Jesus is the Sign

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Text:  Mark 8:11-21

Mark 8:12

And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

(ESV)

Once again the Pharisees approach Jesus, this time asking for a sign.  As with the other times, they approached Jesus, but they are not really seeking a sign demonstrating who Jesus was but testing Jesus (Mark 8:11).  This account recorded in Mark 8:11-21 says that Jesus tells the Pharisees they will not receive a sign and then walks away.  In Luke 11:29 Jesus does provide a sign, the sign of Jonah.  This was not the sign the Pharisee’s sought and why Jesus simply walked away refusing to provide a sign.  The Pharisees sought some miraculous sign demonstrating God’s power and proving Jesus was the Messiah as He claimed.  Instead, Jesus gives a sign illustrating His purpose for coming, His death, burial, and resurrection. 

However, we must ask how the account of Jonah provides a sign pointing to Jesus.  We find the account of Jonah in the Book of Jonah 1-4.  A quick summary of the story is God asks Jonah to go to Nineveh and call out their evil against Him (Jonah 1:1-6).  Most men and women of God would be pleased to have God use them in this manner but not Jonah who flees to Tarshish.  To get Jonah’s attention, God brings a great storm that threatens to sink the boat (Jonah 1:4-6).  After determining the cause of the storm was Jonah’s rebellion against the Lord, the others on the ship throw Jonah overboard, but God provides a great fish to swallow up Jonah (Jonah 1:7-17).  This saves Jonah for after three days the fish vomits him safely up (Jonah 2:1-10).  Once again God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh and, to Jonah’s surprise, the people repent of their sins and turn to God.  Unfortunately, Jonah is even angry at God moving the people of Nineveh to repentance with the book ending with God reminding Jonah that the 120,000 persons in Nineveh are important and loved by Him (Jonah 3-4). 

The Pharisees are concerned about Jesus coming on the scene and having so much attention from the common people of Galilee.  Therefore they believe they must test Jesus by asking for a sign.  The sign of Jonah is not what they are looking for but illustrates the purpose of Jesus’ coming.  The throwing of Jonah overboard is symbolic of Jesus’ death with the fish symbolic of Jesus in the grave for three days.  The fish vomiting Jonah up on the beach symbolizes Jesus’ resurrection.  Confession of one’s belief in Jesus, the one symbolized by the sign of Jonah is all that one needs to receive salvation (Romans 10:9-10).  If you are reading this and have not made a profession of faith in Jesus as your savior, I encourage you to do so now by praying with me,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

Those that just prayed with me are encouraged to find a church or Bible study teaching the Bible so they can establish a deeper relationship with God and begin the transformation from one dominated by the world’s thinking and worldview to a biblical and Godly worldview (Romans 12:2).  The church is not a building but a gathering of believers in Jesus Christ as the one symbolized in the sign of Jonah.  If you just prayed to make Jesus your savior that includes you for God has forgiven all your sins because of your belief, giving you eternal life (John 3:16).  Since Romans 10:9-10 speaks of one confessing with their mouth what has just occurred spiritually in their life, believers in Jesus as their savior are also encouraged to tell someone about what has just happened in their life just as Jonah did in Nineveh (Jonah 3).  Salvation through believing in God’s Son, Jesus, is not something to keep hidden, but something to let all within our community know about (Matthew 6:16).

After Jesus’ gets in the boat and leaves for the other side, he tells the Disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.  Jesus is still speaking symbolically about the false teaching of the Pharisees and the unbelief of Herod, but the Disciples equate leaven with bread and believe Jesus is speaking of the fact they only have one loaf of bread left (Mark 8:14-16).  The error of interpretation by the Disciples is something every student of the Bible must guard against, the error of assigning literal belief to what Scripture symbolically says.  Jesus use of the word leaven was not about bread but the hypocrisy of the teaching of the Pharisees (Luke 12:1). 

Growth as a Christian involves an ongoing mental transformation from conformity to the worlds way of thinking to a renewed mind with a Christ-like worldview.  This involves first accepting Jesus as savior and study of the Bible guided by someone that teaches the Bible.  Believers must also converse with God through prayer on a regular basis for relationships fail due to a lack of communication.  We must also guard against a wrong interpretation of what Scripture says by always determining if the text requires a literal or symbolic interpretation.  May God bless all reading this post.